I thought I was doing something unique pairing a college sweater with some shorts, but Lady Diana had this art mastered years before I was even conceived. Here we see the classic white bike shorts below the sweater, striking fear into the hearts of all women that don't own nude underwear. Celebrities these days have openly stated that they love to copy this look from her. 

The large sweatshirt with a slightly business-minded looking cream skirt and shoe combo can make any look a bit more relaxed. The USA sweatshirt she's wearing on this rainy day is contrasted by a black tote. I really like that she wasn't afraid to match a bright white sweatshirt with a cream skirt here, and I think it works well on such a dreary day.

Disclaimer: All photos below are from the ASOS website. By clicking the link, Sincerely, Alice does not profit in any way. These are just some sweaters I found cute and fit the theme of this post. 

For the looks below, the focus was on a fun and vibrant looking sweater that would pair well with bike shorts and gives that kind of 'vintage vibe'. I accidentally ended up with a blue/purple pastel palette, but I really like it! 

When I saw this sweater, I knew I had to add it to this list. I tried to specifically pick things that weren't too expensive (aka things I could buy and not feel too bad about it) and this sweater is the most expensive on this list. The font read as very 90s and the bright whiteness of the sweater was something I think Diana would really go for.

 Daisy Street Half-Zip

The half zip really stood out to me, as well as the decal of the American flag. I really like the way this piece is styled as well, as the jeans give me a 90s/80s vibe that felt almost androgynous. 

I found a college sweatshirt! Feel free to use your alumni hoodie as a substitute for this one, but if you don't have a comfy college sweater yet, this one may be for you. The text that's slightly curved in the center gave me the same kind of vibes as Lady Diana's Harvard sweatshirt.

Lastly, I loved both the color and neckline of this sweatshirt. The sleeves seem puffed from the shoulders which gives it even more of a retro vibe. While I'm not sure I would catch Diana wearing a pastel purple turtleneck, I think that this look really captures the decade as well as the comfy-cute factor.

I'm no expert in fashion, but I had a lot of fun making this post. I love looking into older fashion trends and analyzing why they are still iconic today, so while this is a different kind of post for me, I hope I can make one again very soon.

Like many people, I'm at home with my Mom today celebrating Mother's Day, and I decided about a month ago that this year I'd like to interview my Mom and ask her some questions about her life and her journey in motherhood. I found some questions from a bunch of different sites and picked some that I thought would be fun for her to answer and also for me to hear. I looked through all the photos on my Google drive for pictures of me and Mom, some of which go back to 2015. It's cute to see both of our hair colors change (hehe)

I hope you enjoy this post, it's been a while since I've posted an interview here!

I would say with my first real job which was at Chase Manhattan Bank. I was working at a gourmet shop prior and through a customer I got that particular job. I was very proud of myself but I was treated like an adult by everyone for the first time, and I realized I was no longer a child. I still remember the salary I made. 

I might have stayed home a little longer as a new mom. I feel that I could have done more with them, but I had excellent childcare that backed up raising my kids. I was very lucky to have likeminded people raising my children with me. My children meant the world to them and treated them well, so I never had any worries. 

You’re very driven the way I am. You’re very organized the way I am. You’re not as ‘mushy’ as me in some respects, in that you have strength that sometimes I lack when my emotions get in the way. I find you to be a little more rigid than I am when it comes to the judgement of people, so I applaud that in you because that’s something you need to figure out about yourself. But I see you like me in a lot of ways that I’m very happy and proud of. I didn’t think you’d like what I like. Sometimes I’ll say I saw something I liked and you’d say you bought the same thing or liked the same thing. So sometimes you’ll surprise me with things. 

Be my daughter. Be a young woman who seeks advice, who still tells me that she loves me, to be compassionate to people’s problems and use her judgement. To be my friend when I need it, but always know that I’m your mother first.

Your jump into adulthood when I felt you weren’t ready yet. Your hesitation to come to me sometimes because you don’t know what I’m going to say. You prejudge without just saying something and letting it fall there and I react how I react. I don’t want you to hesitate. Your hesitation is difficult for me to process sometimes, and it hurts. Especially when you were around 19 or 20 I thought it was my failure as a parent, because you didn’t come to me. But someone wise told me that that’s the way children grow. They grow apart a bit and then they come back. I wish I would have had you a little younger, as well. 

I recently had a friend approach me asking for advice on how to approach her first ESL teaching job. I thought that this post would be a great thing to release right now since we are stuck at home and a lot of people might be exploring the option of teaching online! I found teaching English online to be supremely rewarding and fun, here's how to get started!

I taught English online for about 2 years, mainly to Chinese children and adults. I used two different platforms to do so: TaoTao WeCourse and VIPX. There is a massive market for Chinese students, many of which start their English studies at a very early age as it's something that gives them a boost when it comes to getting into a good high school or a good college. This being said, I've taught a diverse age range of students. I've had students as young as four years old, and as old as middle-aged. I once had a grandmother take my English classes as a new hobby, which was super fun for both me and her!

I started teaching online during college as a way for me to make some additional income between classes and my other job. I'd typically schedule around 25 hours a week for classes, but as you'll find out later in this post, you don't always teach for the full time! 

I found my teaching jobs online and if you've done some Google searches, you'll discover they are not hard to come by! Linkedin, Glassdoor, and even Facebook have job postings for this field. I recommend shopping around a bit when you look for the right company for you. Do you want to teach one on one? in a class of 4 students? Do you want to teach children or adults? How good is your internet connection and do you have headphones with a good quality mic? These are all questions you should ask yourself before applying to any job posting.

These companies promise you can make your own hours and teach whenever you want, but it's a lot more rigorous than it appears. Depending on what company you choose, you need a certain minimum amount of hours committed every week and you commit to a certain time frame that is your time.  An example: with the company VIPX (sometimes called VIPKids) I told them I was free from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. every weekday, and so that was locked in as my timeframe for the 9 months I worked there. I had students commit to semester-length classes, so I had to be sure that I was free for this time since that was their permanent time as well. 

Keep in mind, just because you opened up that time slot does NOT mean you'll be teaching the entire time. If a student booked me at 5:30 until 6, but my next student wasn't until 9:30, I'd have to get paid a majorly reduced 'non-teaching hour' rate in between that. And no, you can't go back to sleep. You're required to be on your computer in case they call you in for a sudden absent teacher coverage, which happens as often as not. You'll need to give MUCH prior notice for any kind of time off, so be sure to make that crystal clear the second you have a plan in mind. 

Another important thing I overlooked when booking these jobs was the taxation I'd have to deal with at the end of the year. When you are an online teacher, you file taxes as an independent contractor, so prepare to be coughing up a pretty penny at the end of the year. 

I'll be honest and say the best thing to bring to class is a positive attitude. Kids like little gimmicks like puppets, stickers, and funny props, but ultimately you have to have a personality that keeps them interested and engaged. I had very few physical props. I used a small frog puppet with a few of my students, a name tag to introduce myself to new students, and a microphone to get shy students talking. I don't think you need any physical extras to be a good teacher, but I recommend having some virtual extras to fill class time.

You'll come across students that take a long time to complete a lesson that's set for 30 minutes, and then you'll have students who breeze through it. The students who breeze through it are the ones you want to prepare extra materials for. Instead of sitting there trying to review material they know and consider easy, I downloaded Where's Waldo activities, I Spy games, coloring sheets, word searches, and a blank Hangman sheet. These were so crucial and definitely saved me a few times. 

I can't speak for all companies, but most will give you a Powerpoint-like slideshow with lesson content, and most times you'll be able to review these slides beforehand to figure out how you'd like to teach them. After you teach 'Bears in the Forest Chapter 1' over 20 times, you'll know it like the back of your hand and won't have to prep as much as the first few classes. You'll be able to interact with the slides by drawing on them, underlining, and even playing audio that comes with it. Lessons can be anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes, and class sizes vary. My classes were all one on one because I didn't like group classes. 

Classes start with an intro slide, where you can make some small talk with your student. The next slide starts the lesson content. The lesson content can be anywhere from 15 to 40 slides long (depending on what grade level you teach). Towards the end there is usually some review material, then an ending slide that's blank so you can import extra content if needed.

Classes are reward heavy, as it keeps the kids wanting more. There's usually a small gift button you can press to award the student a diamond, star, etc for doing well during class. Some companies want you to give a certain amount of rewards per class, some aren't as strict. Feel free to give them at your discretion, and make it a big deal if you give one; students always seem happy to receive them!

Most companies require you to leave feedback after lessons. Parents love to read this, so they encourage you to leave as detailed feedback as possible. Often times, there's a cheat sheet going around that has some stock sentences you can edit as you wish, adding some details about your student. I kept a digital note on my laptop FULL of sentences I could use for feedback, which is required after each class you have with the student. Before you point out the bad points, always say what they did well FIRST. 

Example: Jessie did a great job making animal sounds in class today! Her duck sound was perfect.

Then, give criticism in a gentle way. This is your chance to mention any grammar mistakes, acting out during class, or just some points the student should keep in mind for the next class. If you've mentioned an issue in the past that hasn't been resolved, keep pointing it out in feedback. 

Example: Jessie seemed to struggle with reading about the seasons during class today. Let's read the slides again and study the 4 seasons with Mom or Dad!

I hope this post was helpful! Good luck with teaching! 

The South of France! This is the final arc of my France trip, the last post in which I can share the tons of photos I took and the wonderful memories I made. I have to say, being in the South and simply living life was one of the most enjoyable experiences I had in France. Being that this trip was almost 2 months ago, I don't have an amazing memory of what I did each day chronologically, but I want to share a bunch of photos I took and talk a little bit about my experience in the South and how it compares to a massive city like New York. 

On April 6th, I went outside for the first time in 2 weeks. I walked up and down my block for 30 minutes, my step counter blinking to life to keep up with me. My legs, sore from the recent lack of activity, had almost forgotten the simple pleasure of walking long distances. I relished in the feeling of a cool afternoon breeze hitting my cheeks. For a moment, as I strolled down the block, it seemed like any other spring day. I felt like things were normal. 4000 steps later, I was feeling both elated to have gone out and the most tired I've been in a while. I hadn't done so much as open my front door in over 14 days, and that was driving me to the brink of insanity. I knew I had to shake up my routine, and thus this post was born. 

In these trying times, I thought it would be a good idea to share some tips I have on keeping busy and most importantly: keeping healthy. The obvious handwashing and 'stay at home' advice aside, there are lots of small things you can do to improve your daily routine. Surprisingly, I've kept my alarm from when I was working, meaning that my alarm still rings at 6:30 every day (whether I'd like to acknowledge it or not). As much as I've enjoyed indulging myself with sweets, lazing around in my pajamas and sitting in bed doing nothing until 3 pm, it's beginning to wear on my physical and mental health. If you're anything like me, I hope these tips will help you out as to giving you some inspiration on what to do at home. 

The great and sometimes not so great thing about being stuck at home is that everyone is stuck with you. If you have a lively family like myself, the company can be really great when you find your social meter getting low and want a chat. However, I think it's really important to value personal space especially now that everyone is under one roof 24/7. There’s nothing wrong with sometimes needing a little time alone, and making that time productive can not only help the time pass but also improve your mood. I suggest having a casual hobby that you set aside some alone time for every day. For me, that's been my recent French studies. Since the beginning of the quarantine, I've thrown myself fully into studying French resources I've gathered online and I've been seeing some great results! By giving yourself a little time each day to be alone and think things over, you’ll be able to process your thoughts much better and ultimately be more productive during the day. I like to set aside an hour or two, close my door, and just be. Play music you're into, do some spring cleaning, light a candle, etc. If you’re not in the habit of providing yourself with some personal time, change that.

At this point, I think we are all guilty of not sleeping enough or sleeping way too much. Not only that, but my bed has become a place where I sleep, rest, lay down while watching Youtube, etc. As for waking up and staying up, it's surprisingly tough to find a middle ground if you don't have any set obligations during the day. I mentioned previously that I keep my alarm for the same time, which helps partially because it sets me into the first phase of waking up. 

Usually, by 9:30 AM I'm fully awake but struggling to get out of bed. The real trick is sleeping at the right time and getting enough sleep for your body, which is something I feel each person needs to figure out on their own. I'm not a morning person and find myself most productive at night, so sleeping in until around 10 AM works for me if I'm diligent about sleeping before midnight. Everything from irritability to hunger pangs and bad skin can be caused by not getting enough sleep, and I've seen some serious changes in my skin since the quarantine began, and not for the better! Don’t fall into the trap of running on empty each day, it will only make you feel worse as each day passes and won't correct itself without intentional sleep planning!

While stuck at home, I've made cornbread, risotto, brownies (pictured), and some amazing chocolate chip cookies. If you read that sentence successfully, you'll see that most of those foods don't have high essential vitamin content, and most of them are buttery nightmares for the skin. There are lots of supplements out there like vitamins for hair growth or energy, that can help you feel more balanced if you're someone that wants to get vitamins that way. I personally don't take any supplements currently but I'm very much working on my skincare and diet. 

Despite barely wearing makeup and staying indoors, my skin has been having the worst flare-up of its career. I've been double cleansing, using a night oil, using masks every 4 days, and still, my skin is unhappy. It could be a million things: the lack of sun, not enough water, bad quality sleep, eating 3 chocolate cookies in an hour-- BASICALLY anything. With this in mind, I try to have at least one full recommended serving of vegetables per day with one of my meals. Today I had garlic hummus garden pasta with broccoli for lunch and a piece of homemade cornbread with jam for breakfast. There's nothing wrong with a cookie here and there, but my body is clearly showing me signs that no walking, no water, and no veggies make my skin very, very sad. No matter what problems you’re experiencing on a daily basis, there’s more than likely a vitamin out there that can help you with that.

Let yourself laugh a little more often. Put on a full face of makeup just to wash it off. Dance around your room playing old songs from when you were a kid. Make a cup of tea and put it in the cutest looking mug you own. Try a DIY hair mask you found online (or read my Keratin treatment post). Take photos of you wearing an ugly sweater with no pressure to post it. It sounds like joy is the simplest thing but it’s something that gets neglected and lost in the monotony of each passing day. We wake up, we eat, we work, we sleep. Each day of the week slowly bleeds into each other to become one long day where we never feel the fresh air or realize the gifts we have around is. That shouldn’t be the case. 

I found myself feeling miserable at 2pm on Wednesday, and for what? I got up and took a shower to reset my attitude. In the shower, I saw a lemon potted scrub I had sitting on the counter. I smelled like lemon for the rest of the day, and that little thing alone was enough to make me smile! And that's enough :) Stop trying to pass your time and focus on enjoying it. Every moment you spend at home is just as valuable as one you'd spend outside. I kept trying to fill my time with hours of Youtube content, mindless scrolling and sleeping. Our lives are to be lived! If you're feeling down and hopeless in your home, release yourself from the things that aren't fulfilling you. If you’re looking to feel more positive each day, it starts with consciously reminding yourself that this is temporary. 

Stay home, stay safe :)